The Mumbai Pune Expressway, (officially known as the Yashwantrao Chavan Mumbai Pune Expressway) is India's first six-lane concrete, high-speed, access controlled tolled expressway.[1] It spans a distance of 94.5 km (58.7 mi) connecting Mumbai, the administrative capital of Maharashtra and the financial capital of India, with Pune, an industrial and educational hub. The expressway, which was fully operationalized in 2002, introduced new levels of speed and safety in automobile transportation to Indian roads.[2] It is one of India's busiest roads.[3]

The expressway has reduced the travel time between the cities of Mumbai and Pune to approximately two hours.[citation needed] For most practical purposes, it has replaced the older Mumbai-Pune stretch of the Mumbai-Chennai National Highway (NH 4), which had become extremely congested and accident-prone over time but now it is also a fun road to drive, as cars and buses preferring to move on expressway and thus keeping it away from traffic. The expressway starts at Kalamboli (near Panvel), and ends at Dehu Rd. (near Pune). It cleaves through the scenic Sahyadri mountain ranges thru passes and tunnels. It has six interchanges: Shedung, Chowk, Khalapur, Lonavala, Kusgaon and Talegaon.

The expressway has two carriageways with three concrete lanes, each separated by a central divider and a tarmac or concrete shoulder on either side. Vehicles with fewer than four wheels and agricultural tractors are not permitted, although tractor-trailers (semi-trailer rigs) are permitted. The expressway handles about 43,000 PCUs daily,[3] and is designed to handle up to 1,000,000 PCUs.

Contents

The Mumbai-Pune Expressway at night as seen from Khandala, Pune district

In 1990, the Government of Maharashtra appointed RITES and Scott Wilson Kirkpatrick to carry out feasibility studies for the new expressway to be operated on toll basis. RITES submitted their report in 1994 with the estimated cost of project at ₹11.46 billion (US$180 million).

The tender notice was published in leading newspapers all over India and also on the Internet. Due to the wide publicity, 133 tenders were sold and on 18 December 1997, 55 tenders were received. After technical and financial evaluation, tenders were accepted and work orders were given on 1 January 1998 to four contractors. Thereafter tenders for widening of Khandala and Lonavala-Khandala bypass works were invited. The tenders were received on 24 August 1998 and orders were issued on 4 September 1998.

This six laner project was completed under the stewardship of the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC).
The expressway cost ₹16.3 billion (US$250 million) to construct.[citation needed]
The first sections opened in 2000, and the entire route was completed, opened to traffic and made fully operational from April 2002.

It has five illuminated, ventilated tunnels totalling 5,724 metres. These tunnels were built by the Konkan Railway Corporation Ltd.

These are:

Tunnels

Tunnel

Description

1

Bhatan

This tunnel opened in April 2000.
The Mumbai-Pune (North) tube is 1,046 m and the Pune-Mumbai (South) tube is 1,086 m long.

2

Madap

This tunnel also opened in April 2000.
The Mumbai-Pune (North) tube is 295 m and the Pune-Mumbai (South) tube is 351 m long.

3

Adoshi

This tunnel contains only a half part of the expressway which goes from Pune to Mumbai.
The Mumbai-Pune carriageway skirts the eastern edge of the tunnel
while the Pune-Mumbai carriageway traverses the 230 m long tunnel.

4

Khandala

This is a curved pair of tubes. The Mumbai-Pune (North) tube is 320 m
and the Pune-Mumbai (South) tube is 360 m long.

5

Kamshet-1

The Mumbai-Pune (North) tube is 935 m and the Pune-Mumbai (South) tube is 972 m long.

6

Kamshet-2

The Mumbai-Pune (North) tube is 191 m and the Pune-Mumbai (South) tube is 168 m long.

The entire length of expressway has a single layer of barbed wire fencing to keep out stray cattle.

Toll is collected at Khalapur (Pali Phata) (for the Mumbai-Pune direction) and at Talegaon (for the Pune-Mumbai direction). The toll ranges from ₹195 (US$3.00) for private cars, to ₹1750 (US$27) for multi-axle trailer trucks.

The Expressway has witnessed a large number of accidents, attributed to human errors and the large volume of traffic. In 10 years there were 1758 accidents, with more than 400 fatalities.[4] Sporadic instances of robbery have also been reported in the highway.[5][6][7]

On 28 May 2012, 27 people were reported to have died, and another 26, injured in a road accident when a speeding tempo hit a stationary bus carrying passengers near Khalapur.[8][9]

On 10 June 2010 people were injured and 30 vehicles were damaged in a pileup near Kamshet which occurred when a MSRTC bus skidded inside a tunnel.[10]

MSRDC has decided to extend the Mumbai Pune Expressway from the current endpoint of Kalamboli near Panvel and to extend it till Sion in Mumbai. The extended stretch will reduce commuting time between Mumbai and Pune by 30 minutes. Under the plan, the Sion Panvel Expressway corridor will be widened, with dedicated lanes for heavy and light vehicles. Service roads will be built for entry and exit at various points. It will also involve constructing a brand new bridge over the Thane creek parallel to the current Vashi Mankhurd Bridge. MSRDC will undertake the expansion project. Work is expected to commence in March 2009 and complete by September 2011. The new 22-km link is expected to cost ₹8 billion (US$120 million).[citation needed]

MSRDC is planning to widen the expressway from current 6 lane to 8 lane.[3] The proposal has been presented in Maharashtra Cabinet for approval.

The expressway was conceived and the work started when the BJP and Shiv Sena governed Maharashtra. Eventually, in 2009, the ruling coalition (Congress, NCP) named the expressway after the first Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Yashavantrao Chavan who was instrumental in the development of Maharashtra[citation needed] and an early member of the Congress party.

Apart from providing faster connectivity from Mumbai to Pune, the expressway has also connected cities like Satara, Sangli, Kolhapur, Belgaum, Hubli and Bangalore with Mumbai and reduced the travel time between these cities.